New South Wales declares a 7-day state of emergency as Australia's deadly bushfires rage - CNN

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Thursday that the emergency declaration would come into effect Friday morning as weather conditions are expected to deteriorate significantly on Saturday, raising the fire danger even further.

This is the third time NSW has declared a state of emergency in as many months -- the last two times, in November and December, were also for seven days, and granted extraordinary powers to the Rural Fire Service.

Berejiklian said residents could also be subject to forced evacuations, road closures and any other means necessary to keep people safe.

"We want to make sure we are taking every single precaution to be prepared for what could be a horrible day on Saturday," she said.

Thousands of people were already fleeing the state's south coast on Thursday, with the Rural Fire Service setting up a "tourist leave zone" from the town of Batemans Bay down to the Victoria border. All visitors were urged to evacuate before Saturday, when temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), dry conditions and ferocious winds are expected to heighten the risk of further blazes.

"These will be dangerous conditions," the fire service warned. "Do not be in this area on Saturday."

Thousands are evacuating from the coast

Similar hot, windy weather on Tuesday led to massive fires spreading out of control. Seven people died from the fires within 24 hours. Conditions improved slightly on Thursday -- creating a small window of opportunity for people to evacuate before the situation worsens again Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people are estimated to be in the south coast region, home to seaside towns that swell in population during summer.

Residents on Thursday were heeding the warning. Hundreds if not thousands of cars were backed up in small towns south of Nowra, on the southern coast, according to police. Roads away from the tourist area were packed with long lines of cars waiting to leave, and one major road heading south beyond Nowra was closed due to a fire that jumped the highway.

Some people had been waiting in line for hours and were getting frustrated, with little indication of when the road will open.

Nowra resident Trevor Garland was one of those trying to head south -- his 16-year-old daughter was stranded in the NSW town Sussex Inlet, where she was visiting a friend.

"The big picture is one road in, one road out," he told CNN on Thursday. "I'm going to wait here all night if I have to."

Rob O'Neill had been waiting for six hours at the roadblock. He was also trying to head south to find his children, aged 4 and 5, who are staying with their grandparents. He said he hadn't been able to contact them since Monday, and the fire line had moved as close as several hundred feet from the grandparents' house.

"We want to get them out before Saturday comes. Predictions are pretty bad for Saturday," he said. "Not knowing is pretty scary -- we don't know how they're going."

Authorities are working to clear the backlog and reach the cut-off areas. In neighboring Victoria state, there are 24 such isolated communities, according to Premier Daniel Andrews -- including the town of Mallacoota, where thousands of residents fled their homes to seek refuge at the beach on Monday.

A navy vessel will make multiple trips in Mallacoota on Friday to transport up to 800 residents and tourists to an unspecified safe location, Andrews said Thursday. Air evacuations could also happen once dense smoke begins to move away from the area.

Scenes from the ground show military personnel in trucks and rubber dinghies, rescuing stranded residents and shrouded in yellow haze.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday that the federal government was also sending resources when requested by states, including additional funding and military support from the Australian Defence Force. He warned that many areas were difficult for emergency personnel to safely access, and urged residents to remain calm and patient.

Climate change and the fire crisis

The Australian bushfires have been burning for months now, and aren't likely to stop anytime soon -- Australia is still in the early months of summer, and temperatures typically peak in January and February. "The fire season still has a long time to run," Morrison said in a news conference.

A total of 17 people have died across the country so far, with the most damage concentrated in NSW. Across the state, nearly 1,300 homes have been destroyed and another 442 damaged, according to the Rural Fire Service. Fires have consumed entire towns and ripped through bushland; the strong winds frequently change directions, which fan the flames and carry embers far distances.

The changing winds are forecast to continue from Friday into Saturday, hampering firefighting efforts and causing uncontained fires to spread, according to CNN meteorologists. Meanwhile, air quality will continue to deteriorate in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, large urban hubs smothered in thick smoke and haze. Conditions aren't expected to improve until Monday, when rain could bring some relief.

Australia typically has a fire season during the dry, hot summer -- but this year's weather conditions are more extreme, leading to more devastating blazes. The country is gripped by one of the worst droughts in decades, and a heatwave broke nationwide records in December.

Experts say climate change has worsened the scale and impact of the fires, and many have accused the Morrison administration of not doing enough to address the climate crisis. In December, a woman dumped the remnants of her fire-ravaged home in front of the Australian parliament, accusing Morrison and lawmakers of failing to act.

On Thursday, Morrison said the government aimed to "meet and beat our emissions reduction targets" -- but added that it would stick to "sensible" policies that "don't move toward either extreme."

"The suggestion that there is a single policy, whether it be climate or otherwise, (that) can provide a complete insurance policy on fires in Australia -- well, I don't think any Australian has ever understood that was the case in this country," he said.

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2020-01-02 09:34:00Z
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Australia's deadly wildfires are showing no signs of stopping. Here's what you need to know - CNN

A total of 17 people have died nationwide, and in the state of New South Wales alone, more than 900 houses have been destroyed. State and federal authorities are struggling to contain the massive blazes, even with firefighting assistance from other countries, including the United States.

All this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought, and many point to climate change as a factor making natural disasters go from bad to worse.

Where are the fires?

There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales has been hardest hit.

Blazes have torn through bushland, wooded areas, and national parks like the Blue Mountains. Some of Australia's largest cities have also been affected, including Melbourne and Sydney -- where fires have damaged homes in the outer suburbs and thick plumes of smoke have blanketed the urban center. Earlier in December, the smoke was so bad in Sydney that air quality measured 11 times the "hazardous" level.

The fires range in area from small blazes -- isolated buildings or part of a neighborhood -- to massive infernos that occupy entire hectares of land. Some start and are contained in a matter of days, but the biggest blazes have been burning for months.

What is causing the fires?

Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start and spread.

Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. Dry lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria's East Gippsland region in late December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in just five hours, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.

Other places like California and Indonesia also have regular fire seasons -- but Australian bushfires are unique because they often carry embers on the wind and start fresh blazes far away from the original fire front.

Humans can also be to blame. In November, the NSW Rural Fire Service arrested a 19-year-old volunteer member on suspicion of arson, charging him with seven counts of deliberately setting fires over a six-week period.

Why are the fires so bad?

Fire season in Australia is always dangerous -- the 2009 Black Saturday fires killed 173 people in Victoria, making it the deadliest bushfire disaster on record. But conditions have been unusually severe this year, fanning the flames and making firefighting conditions particularly difficult.

Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades -- the country's Bureau of Meteorology said in December that last spring was the driest on record. Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some places sweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (about 113-120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Strong winds have also made the fires and smoke spread more rapidly, and have led to fatalities -- a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter died in NSW in December after his truck rolled over in high winds.

Experts say climate change has worsened the scope and impact of natural disasters like fires and floods -- weather conditions are growing more extreme, and for years, the fires have been starting earlier in the season and spreading with greater intensity.

Several high-ranking emergency service officials, including the former commissioner of the NSW Fire and Rescue Department, sent letters to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2019 warning of the impact of the climate crisis on Australia.

What has been the damage so far?

Entire towns have been engulfed in flames, and residents across several states have lost their homes. The heaviest structural damage occurred in NSW, the country's most populated state, where close to 1,300 homes have been destroyed and over 440 damaged.

The fires have burned 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of land in NSW, 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) in Western Australia, 784,000 hectares (1.9 million acres) in Victoria, at least 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres) in Queensland, and more than 91,000 hectares (225,000 acres) in South Australia, according to the states' fire authorities.

In total, more than 5.9 million hectares (14.6 million acres) have been burned -- an area larger than the countries of Belgium and Haiti combined.

To put that into perspective, this year's Amazon rainforest fires burned under a million hectares. In California, which is known for its deadly wildfires, just over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) burned in 2019, and about 404,680 hectares (1 million acres) in 2018.

A total of 17 people across Australia have died this fire season, including several volunteer firefighters.

There has also been extensive damage to wildlife and ecology. Almost a third of koalas in NSW may have been killed in the fires, and a third of their habitat has been destroyed, said Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

What is being done?

State and federal authorities have been working to combat the fire crisis for months.

NSW declared a state of emergency in December, which grants "extraordinary powers" to the NSWRFS commissioner, including the authority to allocate government resources and direct government agencies in taking action. The state of Queensland also briefly declared a state of emergency in November.

There are 2,000 firefighters working on the ground in NSW alone, and more support is on the way -- the US, Canada, and New Zealand have sent additional firefighters to help.

The federal government has also sent in military assistance like army personnel, air force aircraft, and navy cruisers for firefighting, search and rescue, and clean-up efforts.

Morrison said his administration was allocating at least 23 million Australian dollars ($16.2 million) in disaster recovery payments to affected families and businesses, and up to 6,000 Australian dollars ($4,200) each for volunteer firefighters called out to fight fires for more than 10 days.

When will the fires end?

Unfortunately, Australia is only just entering its summer season. Normally, temperatures peak in January and February, meaning the country could be months away from finding relief.

The fires are unlikely to end entirely since they are an annually occurring event -- and may even get worse if recent years are a guide.

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2020-01-02 08:17:00Z
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Australia's deadly wildfires are showing no signs of stopping. Here's what you need to know - CNN

A total of 17 people have died nationwide, and in the state of New South Wales alone, more than 900 houses have been destroyed. State and federal authorities are struggling to contain the massive blazes, even with firefighting assistance from other countries, including the United States.

All this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought, and many point to climate change as a factor making natural disasters go from bad to worse.

Where are the fires?

There have been fires in every Australian state, but New South Wales has been hardest hit.

Blazes have torn through bushland, wooded areas, and national parks like the Blue Mountains. Some of Australia's largest cities have also been affected, including Melbourne and Sydney -- where fires have damaged homes in the outer suburbs and thick plumes of smoke have blanketed the urban center. Earlier in December, the smoke was so bad in Sydney that air quality measured 11 times the "hazardous" level.

The fires range in area from small blazes -- isolated buildings or part of a neighborhood -- to massive infernos that occupy entire hectares of land. Some start and are contained in a matter of days, but the biggest blazes have been burning for months.

What is causing the fires?

Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start and spread.

Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. Dry lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria's East Gippsland region in late December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) in just five hours, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.

Other places like California and Indonesia also have regular fire seasons -- but Australian bushfires are unique because they often carry embers on the wind and start fresh blazes far away from the original fire front.

Humans can also be to blame. In November, the NSW Rural Fire Service arrested a 19-year-old volunteer member on suspicion of arson, charging him with seven counts of deliberately setting fires over a six-week period.

Why are the fires so bad?

Fire season in Australia is always dangerous -- the 2009 Black Saturday fires killed 173 people in Victoria, making it the deadliest bushfire disaster on record. But conditions have been unusually severe this year, fanning the flames and making firefighting conditions particularly difficult.

Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades -- the country's Bureau of Meteorology said in December that last spring was the driest on record. Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some places sweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (about 113-120 degrees Fahrenheit).

Strong winds have also made the fires and smoke spread more rapidly, and have led to fatalities -- a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter died in NSW in December after his truck rolled over in high winds.

Experts say climate change has worsened the scope and impact of natural disasters like fires and floods -- weather conditions are growing more extreme, and for years, the fires have been starting earlier in the season and spreading with greater intensity.

Several high-ranking emergency service officials, including the former commissioner of the NSW Fire and Rescue Department, sent letters to Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2019 warning of the impact of the climate crisis on Australia.

What has been the damage so far?

Entire towns have been engulfed in flames, and residents across several states have lost their homes. The heaviest structural damage occurred in NSW, the country's most populated state, where close to 1,300 homes have been destroyed and over 440 damaged.

The fires have burned 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of land in NSW, 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) in Western Australia, 784,000 hectares (1.9 million acres) in Victoria, at least 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres) in Queensland, and more than 91,000 hectares (225,000 acres) in South Australia, according to the states' fire authorities.

In total, more than 5.9 million hectares (14.6 million acres) have been burned -- an area larger than the countries of Belgium and Haiti combined.

To put that into perspective, this year's Amazon rainforest fires burned under a million hectares. In California, which is known for its deadly wildfires, just over 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) burned in 2019, and about 404,680 hectares (1 million acres) in 2018.

A total of 17 people across Australia have died this fire season, including several volunteer firefighters.

There has also been extensive damage to wildlife and ecology. Almost a third of koalas in NSW may have been killed in the fires, and a third of their habitat has been destroyed, said Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

What is being done?

State and federal authorities have been working to combat the fire crisis for months.

NSW declared a state of emergency in December, which grants "extraordinary powers" to the NSWRFS commissioner, including the authority to allocate government resources and direct government agencies in taking action. The state of Queensland also briefly declared a state of emergency in November.

There are 2,000 firefighters working on the ground in NSW alone, and more support is on the way -- the US, Canada, and New Zealand have sent additional firefighters to help.

The federal government has also sent in military assistance like army personnel, air force aircraft, and navy cruisers for firefighting, search and rescue, and clean-up efforts.

Morrison said his administration was allocating at least 23 million Australian dollars ($16.2 million) in disaster recovery payments to affected families and businesses, and up to 6,000 Australian dollars ($4,200) each for volunteer firefighters called out to fight fires for more than 10 days.

When will the fires end?

Unfortunately, Australia is only just entering its summer season. Normally, temperatures peak in January and February, meaning the country could be months away from finding relief.

The fires are unlikely to end entirely since they are an annually occurring event -- and may even get worse if recent years are a guide.

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2020-01-02 07:42:00Z
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Australia wildfire death toll grows as military deployed to ravaged communities cut off by flames - Fox News

Military ships and aircraft have been deployed to coastal communities in southeastern Australia cut off by raging wildfires that have raced towards the coast, trapping thousands as the death toll from the apocalyptic blazes continues to grow.

Cooler conditions on Wednesday, the first day of 2020, allowed authorities to take stock of the damage from the latest blazes this week that have destroyed more than 200 homes and damaged roadways, cutting off coastal areas. Fire danger still remains high in New South Wales and Victoria states, where four people are missing.

Victoria Emergency Commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters on Wednesday the Australian Defence Force was moving naval assets to the town of Mallacoota on a supply mission that would last two weeks and military helicopters would also fly in more firefighters since roads were inaccessible.

“We have three months of hot weather to come," Crisp said. "We do have a dynamic and a dangerous fire situation across the state."

Australia is deploying military ships to help communities ravaged by wildfires that destroyed homes and sent thousands of residents and holidaymakers fleeing to the shoreline. (ABIS Benjamin Ricketts/ADF via AP)

AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES TRAP THOUSANDS IN SEASIDE TOWN, MANY TAKE REFUGE ON BEACH AS FIRES TURN SKY 'PITCH BLACK'

On the last day of 2019, some 4,000 people in the coastal town of Mallacoota were forced to flee to the shore as winds pushed a fire toward their homes under a sky darkened by smoke and turned blood-red by flames. Photos from some of those trapped on the beach showed how the smoke turned the sky dark.

Stranded residents and vacationers slept in their cars, and gas stations and surf clubs transformed into evacuation areas.

"The fire just continued to grow," Mark Tregellas, one of the thousands who had to sleep on the beach, told Sky News. "The black started to descend and I couldn't see the hand in front of my face."

Dozens of homes burned before winds changed direction late Tuesday, sparing the rest of the town.

This Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria shows wildfires in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia. (State Government of Victoria via AP)

"Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water," Tregellas said.

Victoria police said officers were working "around the clock" to help the community, with three police vessels that brought police to Mallacoota on Wednesday afternoon with water, a paramedic, food, and medical supplies.

In the New South Wales town of Conjola Park, 89 properties were confirmed destroyed and cars were melted by Tuesday’s fires. More than 100 fires were still burning in the state Wednesday, though none were at an emergency level. Seven people have died this week, including a volunteer firefighter, a man found in a burnt-out car and a father and son who died in their house.

THOUSANDS OF KOALAS FEARED DEAD IN RAGING AUSTRALIA WILDFIRES, OFFICIALS SAY

Authorities confirmed three bodies were found Wednesday at Lake Conjola on the south coast of New South Wales, bringing the death toll in the state to 15.

Wildfires burning across Australia's two most-populous states trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions Tuesday, Dec. 31, and were feared to have destroyed many properties and caused fatalities. (State Government of Victoria via AP)

Firefighting crews were able to take advantage of easing conditions on Wednesday to restore power to critical infrastructure and conduct some back burning before conditions were expected to deteriorate Saturday as high temperatures and strong winds return.

"There is every potential that the conditions on Saturday will be as bad or worse than we saw yesterday," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

The wildfire crisis in Australia has burned around 12.35 million acres of land, with 17 people confirmed dead and more than 1,000 homes destroyed in the past couple of months.

In this Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria, a helicopter tackles a wildfire in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia. (State Government of Victoria via AP)

The annual Australian fire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer, started early after an unusually warm and dry winter. Record-breaking heat and windy conditions triggered wildfires in New South Wales and Queensland states in September.

Some communities canceled New Year’s fireworks celebrations, but Sydney’s popular display over its iconic harbor controversially went ahead in front of more than a million revelers.

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The early and devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has led authorities to rate this season the worst on record and reignited the debate about whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has taken enough action on climate change. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas, but Morrison rejected calls last month to downsize Australia’s lucrative coal industry.

Morrison won a surprise third term in May, with his government making a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2030.

This Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria shows wildfires in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia. (State Government of Victoria via AP)

The leader of the minor Australian Greens party, Richard Di Natale, is now demanding a royal commission, the nation’s highest form of inquiry, on the wildfire crisis.

“If he (Morrison) refuses to do so, we will be moving for a parliamentary commission of inquiry with royal commission-like powers as soon as parliament returns,” Di Natale said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2020-01-01 13:31:52Z
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Australia fires: Death toll rises as blazes destroy 200 homes - BBC News

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Bushfires have killed at least eight people in south-eastern Australia since Monday, with two others remaining unaccounted for.

The latest fires, which raced towards the coast this week, have also destroyed more than 200 homes.

Seven people have been confirmed dead in New South Wales and one in Victoria.

Conditions have eased slightly, and a major road that was closed in Victoria was reopened for two hours on Wednesday to allow people to leave.

But many people remain in fire-hit areas - in one town, police dropped off 1.6 tonnes of drinking water by boat.

The seven deaths in New South Wales include:

• Two people found in separate cars on Wednesday morning
• A father and son who stayed behind to defend their home and farm equipment
• A 28-year-old volunteer firefighter who was killed when wind flipped his fire engine

Family members of Mick Roberts, a 67-year-old Victorian missing since Monday, confirmed that he had been found dead in his home in Buchan, East Gippsland.

"Very sad day for us to (start) the year but we're a bloody tight family and we will never forget our mate and my beautiful Uncle Mick," his niece Leah Parson said on Facebook.

The deaths bring the total fire-related fatalities across Australia this season to at least 18, with warnings this could rise further.

Of the homes destroyed in this week's blazes, 43 were in East Gippsland, Victoria, while another 176 were in New South Wales.

Earlier on Wednesday, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said 916 homes had been destroyed this season, with another 363 damaged, and 8,159 saved.

In Mallacoota, Victoria - where thousands fled to the beach on Tuesday - police boats arrived with 1.6 tonnes of water for residents.

They also brought food, a paramedic and medical supplies.

At the same time, police warned people in Sunbury, Victoria - around 40km (25 miles) north-west of Melbourne - to leave the area, as an emergency fire warning was in place.

Earlier, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said workers would take advantage of the milder weather on Wednesday to clear roads and restore power.

But she said temperatures were expected to rise again on Saturday.

"At the very least, weather conditions will be at least as bad as what they were yesterday," she said.

The fire service warned they had been unable to reach some people in remote areas.

"We've got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public," said New South Wales rural fire commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

"We haven't been able to get access via roads or via aircraft - it's been socked in [runways have been closed] or too dangerous."

Media playback is unsupported on your device

In Mallacoota, many people spent the night sleeping in their cars or on deck chairs.

Victoria Emergency Commissioner Andrew Crisp said - as well as the police vessels - "a large barge" was sailing from Melbourne to the town with food, water and 30,000 litres of fuel.

In Cann River, a town around 80km (50 miles) inland from Mallacoota, residents warned that food supplies were running low.

Further north in Ulladulla, New South Wales, people were queuing outside supermarkets - while cuts to mobile networks and landlines meant people also waited to use payphones.

The military said amphibious ships were setting off from Sydney and would arrive in fire-hit coastal areas of New South Wales and Victoria by Friday.

Meanwhile, a woman from Mallacoota who took a photo that went viral has spoken about the image.

Allison Marion took the picture of her 11-year-old son, Finn, moving their family to safety in a powerboat.

• Air quality fears at GB's ATP Cup venue

"Finn drove the boat and my other son looked after the dog in the boat and [I am] very proud of both of them," she told ABC News.

When the family returned to land, as conditions eased, they went to check on their home.

"Our street somehow escaped the fire somehow," she said. "However, I feel for many people in our community who have lost their homes. It's just truly saddening."

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2020-01-01 10:46:54Z
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Twelve dead, several missing as Australia counts the cost of devastating bushfires - Reuters

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A third person was confirmed dead on Wednesday in devastating bushfires that engulfed Australia’s southeast coast this week and a fourth was missing and feared dead, as navy ships rushed to provide supplies and assist with evacuations.

Twelve people have now lost their lives in fire-related deaths across Australia since blazes broke out a few months ago, including three volunteer firefighters, after a three-year drought in large parts of the nation created tinder-dry conditions.

Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.

Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.

Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than 100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of firefighters on the ground.

The body of a man was found in a burnt car early on Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency workers began reaching the most damaged areas, and police said the death toll will rise.

“Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South Coast,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters in Sydney.

“Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still unaccounted for.”

NSW police did not identify the missing man but said he was 72 years old and authorities have been unable to reach his home.

Police said early assessments have found nearly 200 homes have been destroyed, though they cautioned it was an early estimate.

Large-scale livestock and animal casualties are also expected across Australia’s east coast, though Mogo Zoo - home to Australia’s largest collection of primates, along with zebras, white rhinos, lions, tigers and giraffes – was saved.

The wildlife park was threatened by an out-of-control bushfire, though zoo keepers and firefighters managed to save all 200 animals.

Smoke from the Currowan Fire is pictured from St George’s Basin south of Nowra and looking towards Sussex Inlet and Lake Conjola, Australia, December 31, 2019 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. John Wardle via REUTERS

In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.

About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.

Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction sparred lives.

“The fire just continued to grow and then the black started to descend. I couldn’t see the hand in front in my face, and it then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming,” Tregellas told Reuters.

“Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind changed and the fire moved away.”

In Milton, a small town on the on the NSW south coast, locals queued for hours for the few remaining items left of shelves on supermarkets.

Emma Schirmer, who evacuated from her house in Batemans Bay with her three-month child on Tuesday, said the local shop was limiting sales to six items per customer, while a power outage meant shoppers could pay only with cash.

As shops run low and firefighters struggle with exhaustion, Australia’s military, including Black Hawk helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels were being deployed.

“We’ve got choppers taking 90 firefighters out of the Mallacoota area, they can’t be removed any other way - we’re essentially doing a shift change by the air,” Andrews told reporters.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, and she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the weekend.

“Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were” on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Australia’s capital Canberra was blanketed in thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting health warnings.

Slideshow (3 Images)

The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.

(Corrects paragraph 4 to remove erroneous comparison to Japan, which was also in earlier updates of the series.)

Reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman & Kim Coghill

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-01-01 00:56:00Z
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Thousands of Australian residents, tourists forced to flee to shore amid wildfires | TheHill - The Hill

Thousands of Australian residents and tourists are being forced to flee to its southeastern shore amid the wildfires decimating much of the country, news outlets reported Tuesday.

Evacuees faced apocalyptic scenes as they took to the beaches to avoid the flames in the states of Victoria and New South Wales after the warmest decade on record, according to The New York Times. Thousands were left in evacuation centers, and tens of thousands of others were without power.

Approximately 4,000 people escaped to the beaches into the water in Mallacoota, a family camping spot, while hundreds of families left their homes in Batemans Bay, New South Whales, on Tuesday, CNN reported.  

Batemans Bay residents are now evacuating to the beach, these are the scene captured a short time ago.

LIVE COVERAGE: https://t.co/7oP3HkcPse

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- Alistair Prior. #9News pic.twitter.com/jsfk1m8aRu

— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) December 31, 2019 

The death toll has risen to at least 11 after a volunteer firefighter and a father and son died in New South Whales, according to the Times. Four people are missing in Victoria, CNN reported. 

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The fires began over the weekend due to dry lightning and were intensified by high winds and hot weather. A total of 100 fires were burning in New South Whales on Tuesday, with 60 percent still needing to be contained. In Victoria, 70 new fires erupted Monday, and 20 of those are still active, according to CNN.

Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 200,000 hectares have already been burned across the state, reportedly calling it a "dynamic and dangerous situation." Crisp added some communities are isolated and food packs and supplies are being put together to send. 

‘F**k I’ve never seen anything like it,’ this man has described the scenes in Mallacoota, Victoria after he was forced to escape a huge bushfire by boat #Mallacoota #AustralianFires #bushfirecrisis pic.twitter.com/3pP4rjx5tH

— SBS News (@SBSNews) December 31, 2019 

Meteorologists expect the weather to improve in the next 24 hours but then worsen again by the end of the work. 

Sydney, which has experienced heavy smoke from the fires, still put on its annual fireworks show for New Year’s Eve, despite a Change.org petition calling for the displays cancellation.

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2019-12-31 15:15:38Z
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